A front part structure of a vehicle body in which a crossmember is provided at a dashboard is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI-10-7022, for example. This vehicle front body structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20 hereof.
As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, a vehicle body 200 is partitioned into an engine compartment 202 and a passenger compartment 203 by a dashboard 201. The dashboard 201 is formed at its bottom central portion with a hollow tunnel 204 extending fore and aft of the dashboard 201. A crossmember 205 is joined along the bottom of the dashboard 201. A propeller shaft and a muffler (not shown) are extended through the tunnel 204.
Generally, rearward of the tunnel 204 is provided a floor tunnel extending longitudinally of the vehicle body 200 within the passenger compartment 203. In the engine compartment 202, an engine is mounted via a subframe to right and left front side members extending longitudinally of the vehicle body 200.
Reference numeral 211 denotes a cowl upper portion. A steering device is supported by a bracket 212.
Collision energy acting from the front of the vehicle body 200 is transmitted to the right and left front side members. In order to effectively absorb such collision energy, it is preferable to extend a crossmember between the right and left front side members along the dashboard 201. With this arrangement, when the vehicle is running, vibration from front wheels and the engine is transmitted from the subframe to the crossmember 205. Therefore, it is desired to configure the crossmember 205 to be able to absorb collision energy from the vehicle front and running vibration.
However, there is a limit on efficient absorption of collision energy and running vibration with the crossmember 205. Thus, there is a demand for a structure in which collision energy acting from the vehicle front can be efficiently transmitted from a dashboard portion throughout the vehicle body.